Turbine water-wheel.



3 Sho.eta5heot l.

Patented luly l6, l90l. E. L. KRAFT &. H. E. BASEHORE.

TURBINE WATER WHEEL.

(Application am Nov. 19,1000. (Ila Iodol.)

5 0 H m kww m V[ A Jo W J M H P Y r 1 m lllllllllll S E S M H W No. 678,498. Pafentad luly l6, |9o|.

. a. L. KRAFT &. H; E. BASEHORE.

3 Shaots$heet 2.

n M "1 m n A. m 5 mm m Mu (Ilo Model.)

INVENTOHS,

Patented luly l6, l90l. E. L. KRAFTG. H. E. BASEHURE TURBINE WATER WHEEL.

(Applicafiiqn filed Nov. 19 190 3 Sheets-Shooi 3.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES {PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD L. KRAFT AND HORACE E. BASEHORE, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

' TURBINE WATER-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,498, dated July 16, 1901. Application filed November 19 1900. Serial No. 37,008. (No model.)

' bine Water-Wheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in Vertical section, of our improved turbine; Fig. 2, a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a vertical section of the guide-ring, taken on the line 44of Fig. 3; Fig 5, a detail horizontal section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 10 looking downward; Fig. 6, a side elevation of the runner, partly broken away to show the peculiar construction of the blades or buckets; Fig. 7, a bottom view of the runner; Fig. 8, a detail side elevation of one of the buckets and the adjacent parts of the shaft and hub, the position of the rim of the runner being shown by two horizontal.

dotted lines; Fig. 9, a detail plan view of one of the buckets as it appears in position in the runner, the adjacent parts being shown by dotted lines; Fig. 10, a vertical section taken on the line 10 10 of Figs. 8 and 9, except that the hub and runner-rim are shown.

The main object of this invention is to so construct and arrange the buckets in the wheelthat the maximum power of the waterfiow is obtained, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawings by letters, a designates the vertical shaft of the wheel, which is stepped at its lower end, as usual, upon a block I), supported upon the spider 0 within the lower end of the draft-tube d, the upper end of the shaft passing through a stuffingbox e, mounted upon the upper end of the casing f, carrying the bearing-blocks, this casing f being carried upon the lid of a cylindrical dome 9, this dome being in turn bolted upon the guide-ring, which latter is in turn bolted upon the upper flanged end of the draft-tube d. The guide-ring is composed of an upper ring it and a lower ring 6, connected together by vertical plates j, arranged tan-- gentially and forming a series of nozzles or chutes for injecting the water into the runner. The lower face of ring h and the upper face of ring i are correspondingly inclined inward and downward, so that the water shall be directed into the runner with the least possible friction. It will be observed that by thus beveling the adjacent faces of the rings h and t' and arranging the partition-plates tangentially the nozzles or chutes are caused .to taper'inwardly, and, as shown more par forcibly downward and inward into the run ner-buckets. This is an important feature of our invention, as it provides for utilizing the full force of the water by avoiding friction and conducting it into the runner in the course it would naturally take in falling through a circular openingunobstructedly.

' The inner ends of the chutes or nozzles are closed by a cylindrical gate Z, which fits within the guide-ring and is adapted to be raised and lowered to open 'or to close the chutes. Any suitable means may be employed for vertically operating the gatesuch, for instance, as a pair of rods m, connected to the upper edge ofthe gate at diametrically opposite points and extending up through the top of the dome g and provided with racks on their upper ends, these racks being engaged by pinions '11,, secured to a horizontal shaft 0, j ournaled in bearings carried by standards p,

\ said shaft 0 being adapted to be rotated by any suitable mechanism.

The lower edge of the gate Z is beveled downward and inward and is adapted to fit closely against the upper side of a flange q, formed integral with the lower ring 11 and extending downward and inward to near the upper edge of the runner-rim, the upper inclined face of this flange q being a continuation of the inclined face of ring 11. The object of this flange q is to direct the water into the wheel without loss or leakage and, in conjunction with the correspondingly-beveled lower edge of gate Z, to form a watertight joint, so that when the gate is closed down leakage will be prevented. The object of beveling the upper surface of flange q is that it will automatically clear itself from sand or other grit, so that the gate may at all times close down tightly upon it. The runner is composed of a hub portion 3, a ring 1", and a series of buckets or blades 15, these latter being peculiarly formed and arranged so as to utilize the full power or weight of the water and the suction. The hub is substantially an inverted frusto-cone having its under side concaved, and the upper inner edges 1) of the blades are connected to this concaved part of the hub, while their lower outer edges w are rigidly connected to the inner side of the rim 1'. Each blade is of cast-iron and has the appearance of being made of a tapered plate of sheet metal partially twisted longitudinally, so that each longitudinal edge of the blade forms approximately a spiral, the spiral edges being continuous except where the shoulder u is formed by cutting away the outer upper edge of the bucket. Each blade or bucket is fastened to the hub and the rim in the manner shown in Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, from which figures it will be obvious that the upper part of the inner edge of the blade or bucket is embedded in the process of manufacture in the concave surface of the hub, and the lower portion below the shoulder u of the outer edge is embedded in the inner surface of the ring 'r. The blade is mounted so that its lower portion-4'. e. the portion below the upper edge of the ring r-takes a considerable sweep laterally and around the wheel in the reverse direction to its rotation. It will be observed that the working face of each blade or bucketis concave throughout its length and that the inner edge 1; thereof curves from the lower end of the hub downward and outward and in a direction away from the direction of rotation and terminates at the lower point 00 of the blade adjacent to the lower edge of the ring. The lower end of the blade dips below the lower edge of the rim, and the blade terminates in a point at the lower edge of the rim and directed in a direction reverse to that of the direction of rotation. The peculiar spiral formation of the blade and its position in the wheel directs the water downward withoutinterruption, and by reason of the peculiarly-curved extension of the lower end of the blades the water is given a peculiar turn or twist inward and downward as it emerges from the lower end of the bucket, this inward and downward swerve causing a powerful reaction backward and outward, thereby materially increasing the power of the wheel. It will be observed that by thus giving the outer edge w of the blade considerable of a backward sweep and extending the inner edge 11' from the hub downward below the lower extremity so of said outer edge and then outward and upward and rearward until it meets the lower extremity of the outer edge at the rim, a pointed or triangular extension or prolongation y is formed adjacent to the rim, which prolongation prevents a premature discharge of the water and imparts to it a turn or twist inward and downward as it leaves the blade, whereby the aforedescribed powerful reaction is obtained.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a turbine water-wheel, a shaft carrying a runner, a guide-ring adapted to direct the water into the wheel, said ring being provided with an internal annular flange, as q, extending around the runner and having its upper face inclining inward and downward and forming an uninterrupted continuation of the bottom face of the water-passage of the guide-ring, and a cylindrical gate and means for operating it, the lower edge of said gate being beveled inward and downward and adapted to fit against the upper inclined face of said flange, for the purposes set forth.

2. A turbine runner, composed of a shaft, a hub thereon, a rim, and a series of blades or buckets connecting the hub to the rim and each blade being attached at its upper inner edge '1; to the hub and to the inner face of the rim atits outer edge w, this outer edge extending rearward and downward and the lower portion '0 of the inner edge of the blade extending downward from the hub to a point below the lower extremity of the outer edge u; and then upward and rearward and outward until it meets said lower extremity of edge w thereby forming a tapering rearwardextending prolongation adjacent to the rim, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures, in the presence of two witnesses, this 14th day of November, 1900.

EDW. L. KRAFT. HORACE E. BASEHORE.

Witnesses:

E. O. RUPP, C. S. STITZEL. 

